Dateline: True Crime Weekly
Lori Vallow Daybell's phone calls. Karen Read's retrial set to start. And Houston's "lost boys".
Thu, 17 Apr 2025 08:00:00 +0000
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Listen to this week's episode of the Dateline: True Crime Weekly podcast with guest host, Blayne Alexander. In Arizona, the prosecution plays phone calls Lori made to her insurance agent in the days after her husband's shooting. In Massachusetts, a jury is finally seated in the Karen Read retrial, and the prosecutor has a new strategy. The accused Gilgo Beach serial killer is back in court. Plus, a forensic anthropologist on a mission to identify the victims of the Candyman serial killer. Find out more about the cases each week here: www.datelinetruecrimeweekly.com Listen to Keith's podcast, Mommy Doomsday, about the Lori Vallow Daybell story here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mommy-doomsday/id1540849480Listen to Josh's episode "The Widow of Woodland Hills" about the Monica Sementilli case here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-widow-of-woodland-hills/id1464919521?i=1000703469294And vote for us for a Webby award: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2025/podcasts/shows/crime-justice
Chapter 1: What happened in Lori Vallow Daybell's trial?
You know, Blaine, it's almost a letdown. And I can tell you when I go up there this time, I am putting that soccer chair in my trunk. I'm going to have it with me as kind of a talisman for the retrial. But this time, let me tell you what the system is. You know, there's a lottery system. I mean, it's something called a randomizer.
Selects 10 reporters from about 30 who want to sit inside the court. There's only 10 seats in this tiny, tiny courtroom. But, you know, whether I'm in the court or streaming the trial online, I'm going to be watching it very closely and reporting back to tell you about it. And, you know, I might be sitting in my chair when I do it.
That's what the people need. We need the Sue Simpson soccer chair. Sue Simpson, our intrepid reporter who has been all over this case from the beginning of time. Sue, thank you so much. Thank you for joining us. Thank you. Up next, verdicts are in on two separate murder trials that we've been following. Two female defendants, both accused of murdering their husbands. Will either of them walk free?
Plus, author Lisa Olson is here to talk about her new book on the man she calls the worst serial killer you've never heard of and the scientist who's working to bring closure to the families of his victims. Welcome back. Joining me for this week's roundup is Dateline booking producer Rachel White. Hi, Rachel. Hi, Blayne. How are you? So good to talk with you. It's great to be here.
Okay, so let's dive in. Let's start with two verdicts that came back last week in trials that we've been following pretty closely here on the podcast. First up, the murder trial of Monica Simantelli, the wife of Hollywood hairstylist Fabio Simantelli. Rachel, just real quickly, remind us about that case.
Absolutely. So Monica Sementelli was accused of masterminding a plot to have her husband killed. Even though her lover, former porn star and sex offender Rob Baker, and his lifelong friend Christopher Austin confessed to carrying out the murder itself, a jury still had to decide just how involved Monica was with the plan. That was a long trial, a very long trial, about 10 weeks.
How long did it take the jury to deliberate on this?
So they deliberated for about eight hours and 45 minutes, and that was spread out over three days.
Okay, got you. So let's take a listen to what the jury decided here. Here's the verdict.
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Chapter 6: What new developments occurred in the Gilgo Beach serial killer case?
I do not. Do you know what a person should act like if they're in a stressful situation? So there isn't one way to act. There's just behavior that is striking. Striking behavior? Correct. Okay. And it would have been non-emotional if I was trying to be calm for my daughter? I'm going to object to speculation. Sustained. Were you being calm? I believe so. Were the other detectives being calm?
I believe so.
Okay. Okay.
There is just so much here. Nate, thank you so much for keeping us up to speed. And for more on the trial, you can also check out Nate's show, Courtroom Insider. That's live at 8 p.m. Mountain Time on the East Idaho News YouTube channel every day after court.
Thank you, Blaine. Good seeing you.
You too. Coming up, as Karen Reid's blockbuster retrial gets underway, how her own words may come back to haunt her. Karen Reed's first trial began almost a year ago. Reed was charged with second-degree murder, among other charges, for allegedly killing her boyfriend, John O'Keefe, a Boston police officer.
Prosecutors say she left him to die in the snow after hitting him with her SUV outside of a party at the home of another Boston police officer. Now for its part, the defense argued that O'Keeffe had been beaten up inside the house and Reed was being framed for his death. Reed has pleaded not guilty. Her first trial ended after nine weeks without a verdict. I'm declaring a mistrial in this case.
In the years since, Karen Reid's case has never been far from the headlines as attorneys have continued to battle it out in pretrial hearings and Reid herself has spoken out. This week, a jury was finally selected for the retrial. With opening statements set for next Tuesday, Dateline producer Sue Simpson joins us again to bring us the very latest on what to expect this time around.
Sue, there is so much to watch here. Thanks so much for joining us to break it all down. Yeah. Hi, Blaine. Hi. Hi. Okay, so let's get into it. On Tuesday, we finally got a jury. That is big.
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